Kansas City public art project takes on debt

[AsahinaKimi]

In this Sept. 30, 2011 photo, demonstrators stand in front of the letters "IOU" spelled out on shipping containers across the street from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in Memorial Hill Park in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- Across the street from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, a foreboding tower of shipping containers glowers at the building spelling out an in-your-face message: "IOU." On the other side: "USA."

The 65-foot (20-meter)-high structure by artist John Salvest is made up of 117 carefully-aligned cargo and storage containers -- the kind that ply the world's rivers and oceans.

The piece is creating a buzz in Kansas City as debate about the national deficit surfaces as a key theme of the upcoming presidential race and budget shortfalls are the top concern in the nation's statehouses.

The artist behind it says the message is open to interpretation. But the symbolism of shipping containers stacked tall in the shadow of the city's Federal Reserve building can be taken as a slap at a government groping for ways out of its debts.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/odd/news/20111004p2g00m0dm099000c.html